


Day 226

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [226]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25905751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [226]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257
Kudos: 2





	Day 226

Cullen returned to the Mechanical Rivani first thing in the morning. He had spent the past few days reading up on chess strategy and challenging anyone he could in the Gallows. He didn’t know if the automaton would remain after the festival but somehow he felt like it would be a concession of defeat if he had not beaten the thing by then.

He was fifth in line to challenge the machine. Most of the others were nobles with nothing better to do or scholars who wanted to prove themselves against the Mechanical Rivani. Cullen watched each game with interest. The automaton won each time, from what Cullen had heard, it was still undefeated. Some of the nobles bet large sums of money on the match which the dwarf Gerav pocketed with glee.

The Mechanical Rivani was incredibly aggressive, slamming its pieces into its opponent’s defenses before they had properly set up. It had no reservation about sacrificing its own pieces, probably an advantage from being a machine. By the time Cullen was at the front of the line, he felt as ready as he could ever be. He put down five sovereigns on the result, more than he could responsibly afford to lose, but he was determined to succeed.

He watched as the automaton went through its usual motions. This time, it led with the king’s side knight instead of a pawn and once again Cullen mirrored his opponent’s move. Cullen moved out his pawn to free his bishop and make room for him to castle. He was nervous about being so defensive but he would need to withstand the automaton’s assault if he had any hope. 

His defensiveness cost him as the Mechanical Rivani was soon ready to bring most of its powerful pieces to bear. Cullen knew it was now or never and launched an all out assault on the automaton’s pieces. There was a lot of maneuvering and in the end they both lost a single knight and a few pawns a piece but Cullen ended up in a much more advantageous position. He felt sweat pouring down his back from the stress of it all.

The automaton tried to start a counter attack but Cullen traded his queen to trap his opponent’s king. There were a few scrambling moves back and forth while the Mechanical Rivani wiggled its way out of Cullen’s trap. By the end Cullen had lost half his pieces but the automaton was down to its queen a single knight and two pawns. Its willingness to sacrifice pieces was finally working against it. It tried in vain to send its queen after Cullen’s king but he had enough pieces left to protect him.

This time when Cullen pressed the attack the automaton could only delay the inevitable. Cullen chased the white king from one side of the board to the other, never giving it enough room to breath. The moment he finally trapped the enemy king was one of the most euphoric moments of his life. It was certainly to most pride he had felt since arriving in Kirkwall.

“You see,” Gerav said, handing Cullen ten gold sovereigns. “It can be bested. Now who’s next?”

The crowd erupted into shouting and shoving as Cullen wandered off. Seeing blood drawn, figuratively speaking of course, made the crowd bolder. As he was leaving he heard a noblewoman put down ten sovereigns on her gamer. Cullen suspected Gerav would not need to wait long to recoup his losses.


End file.
